The Government has today launched a competition which will see rural locations awarded a share of a £30 million fund to run trials of 5G-related technology.
At our recent event Dorset’s Digital Future – a Smart Rural Place delegates told us that lack of mobile connectivity was a real issue for them.
From subsequent meetings with local organisations, service providers, residents and businesses it’s clear that mobile coverage is leading to frustrations, increased costs, holding back growth and may even be costing lives.
I wrote last month about how better mobile connectivity might improve life in rural areas like Dorset. But 5G in predominately areas such as ours will be several (6+) years away without intervention or incentivisation by local and / or central government.
To reflect the challenging economics of providing connectivity in rural areas, the Government has today launched the Rural Connected Communities (RCC) programme to explore new commercial models and technical solutions to improve mobile coverage.
The RCC competition will fund up to ten 5G research and development projects over two years.
The projects will trial innovative use cases and technical solutions to build the business case for investment in rural connectivity and explore the capabilities of 5G to benefit rural communities. They will also help demonstrate demand from a variety of economic sectors and rural communities for 5G technologies.
We are working with a specialist telecommunications consultant to form a consortium including academia, the public, private and third sectors to prepare a bid for rural Dorset to be submitted later this year.
The links below provide more information about 5G, plus the potential benefits and challenges of deploying better mobile connectivity in rural areas.
Public Health Dorset statement on possible health concerns
If you are interested in staying up to date with our bid to Government and the latest digital news from Dorset then follow us on twitter or sign up for our e-newsletters.
I have done a lot of research on this new 5G network and I must say it doesn’t fill me with a sense of optimism.
Most governments around the world are rolling out this 5G network at an enormous expense. They are pushing this new technology onto us with limited information on why. There is clearly a reason why so many governments around the world are making this happen as soon as possible.
We all know who this will benefit the most because no government pushes new technology so aggressivly as they are with this 5G.
There are many highly respected professionals in various connected industries who have voiced serious concerns about 5G and what the real idea behind it is.
For the people who don’t understand this technology, it is effectivly big data surveilance of an entire society. It will allow the authorities to know EVERYTHING about EVERYONE from the type of shampoo you use today to the medication your doctor prescribed last week. This system will know more about you than you probably know about yourself. It makes CCTV look like stoneage technology.
If you believe that we each have a right to privacy then you want to hope that 5G is never launched because privacy will be a thing of the past.
People often argue, they have nothing to hide so they shouldn’t be concerned about this technology but it’s like saying, they can remove my freedom of speech because I have nothing important to say. It’s an insane argument.
Sadly, most of us have smartphones today which track our daily activities but this will pale in comparison to this 5G network. Everything that can be connected to 5G will be connected. It will create an enormous database of infomation that will be bigger than the internet is today.
Personally, I don’t trust government or the establishment enough to give them this level of power over us and if you think it’s going to be used to benefit you and your life then you are seriously naive.
My biggest concern about this technology is the health implications that so many experts have talked about but the governments and 5G providers are all refusing to even discuss the issue of health and the impact this new frequency could have on us. No real testing has been done on the health implications. 5G uses a new type of frequency that doesn’t bounce off phyical obstructions like current frequencies do. Experts are saying the signal could be dangerous to the human body and infants are paticularly vulnerable because their sculls are less dense than an adult. This is experts in health and technology that are saying this yet the government and providers refuse to discuss it. They are determind to roll out this new technology as fast as possible without being 100% sure of the health impact this could have on society.
The way I look at it, if they are so sure this technology is safe then they should at least delay the roll out for a year or two in order to do the proper tests so they can prove how safe it is. To just dismiss the potential dangers with no discussion does not fill me with confidence.
There is a wealth of information online about the dangers and fears that EXPERTS have concerning 5G. I highly recommend everyone to do their OWN research and don’t believe any individual source. Find your own truth about 5G and consider the bias that some may have.
I wonder if this comment will be published… I doubt it.
Thanks for your comments and we are pleased to publish them.
We would also encourage people to undertake their own research around the benefits/risks of 5G.
We are a government organisation, but Dorset Council is simply interested in how better mobile connectivity might benefit local communities, businesses and individuals in Dorset.
A statement on health matters relating to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (radio waves) and 5G can be found at https://news.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/2019/07/29/health-concerns-surrounding-5g/
I agree with Mr Wood’s comments and I would urge the whole of Dorset to follow the example of Glastonbury and other towns in adopting the precautionary principle. Have a moratorium on the roll out of 5G until its safety has been adequately proven with more up-to-date and comprehensive methods than those which the government is relying on, including referencing the 1000s of scholarly papers showing the negative health effects of microwave technology in use presently, even before the addition of 5G.
http://www.5gawareness.com
Correction: It is not Mr Wood with whom I agree. It is “Cw’s” misgivings I wish to echo.